Davis Cup quarters preview:
Roddick, Blake up against unexpected French foes
Look for Russia, Spain and Argentina to pull through
By
Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net
Ron Cioffi/TR
Cynthia Lum/WireImage.comMichael
Llodra get a surprising Davis Cup start and
Marat Safin goes five sets to defeat Tomas Berdych
in the first match.
The two-month long drool fest at the possibility
of Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake facing off against young
Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet quickly dissipated
over the past two days, when Tsonga pulled out of the tie with
a knee injury and French captain Guy Forget subbed in lefty Michael
Llodra for the injured Gasquet.
On Friday in North Carolina, Roddick will go up
against Llodra, followed by James Blake against the rising yet sporadic
Paul-Henri Mathieu.
"I have some physical problems, but Michael
is good player and it will be hard for US to win two matches tomorrow," said
Gasquet, who is nursing a blister on his right hand. Has any No. 1 player
ever pulled out of a Friday match with a blister? Leave it to the often-soft
Richard to keep raising question marks about himself.
Forget's move looks like a good one, though, even
though even a red-hot Llodra will be a decided underdog against Roddick.
The court is playing quick and the Frenchman certainly can serve and
volley. They faced each other once, at '02 Delray Beach, which was a
victory for the then young Roddick. But this year the attacking Frenchman
won Adelaide and Rotterdam. However, Roddick has had a solid past two
months and is virtually unbeatable on US hard courts in Davis Cup competition.
"When you serve like he does [and] he's a
great volleyer player, you have to play quick points," Forget said
of Llodra. "He's just a perfect player for that. You know, once
the rally will go on, he has all the weapons to hurt Andy. Of course,
Andy's got a great serve as well. I'm not going to talk about Andy. Everybody
knows how good he is and what he can do. But I'm sure Michael, with his
game, being a lefty, will cause a lot of problems."
Forget must be hoping that he can steal a win with
Mathieu and then pin his hopes on Llodra and Arnaud Clement against the
Bryan brothers. Blake and Mathieu have played once –
at '07 New Haven – where the American pulled out a third-set tiebreak.
Then, Gasquet might be able to return on Sunday
to face a man he thinks he can have his way with – Roddick, the same
man he upset at Wimbledon. The US and France are locked at 7-7 in DC
competition. I broke down this tie five different ways in my head and,
for whatever reason, I couldn't get the score 3-2 with a live fifth rubber
out of my head. I'll take the US to pull through, but no player on the
American squad is going to skate.
SAFIN PICKED OVER
MIAMI CHAMP DAVYDENKO
Line-up changes ruled the day when Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev
opted for the slumping Marat Safin, who pulled out a five-set win over
Tomas Berdych in the opening match. Tarpischev selected the one-time
No. 1 over the jet-lagged Miami champ Nikolay Davydenko against the Czechs
on clay in Moscow.
Igor Andreev and his wicked forehand takes on Radek
Stepanek in the second match. Davydenko/Mikhail Youzhny are scheduled
to face Lukas Dlouhy/Pavel Vizner in the doubles, but look for Safin
to come and replace Davydenko. Then on Sunday, Davydenko will likely
get the call in singles. Tarpischev is famous for pulling rabbits
out of his hat, but he made a bad move in the Portland final by not
playing Davydenko on day one. Look for the Russians to pull out two
singles wins on Sunday for a 3-2 win.
ACASUSO SLATED OVER
HIGHER-RANKED ARGENTINES
In Argentina, captain Alberto Mancini named Jose Acasuso as his
second singles player against Sweden. No. 40 Acasuso was picked ahead
of Juan Monaco and Guillermo Cañas, who are both in The top 25. "All
three of them are playing at a very similar level. Maybe one ends up
taking a decision on a feeling rather than purely tennis reasons," said
Mancini.
Anne-Marie Stark Sania
Mirza will be out at least a month.
Argentine No. 1 David Nalbandian will face Thomas Johansson
in the first of Friday's opening singles, followed by Acasuso against
Robin Soderling in what should be a blowout. "Acasuso and myself
are playing at a level that can enable us to win any one of the two
points," said Nalbandian. In doubles, Jonas Bjorkman and Robert
Lindstedt will face Nalbandian and Cañas. This one will be
an Argentine sweep.
NADAL LEADS SPAIN
In Germany, Rafael Nadal kept his promise to compete and will
go up against veteran Nicolas Kiefer on a fast indoor court, In the second
match, Philipp Kohlschreiber must be favored at home against David Ferrer.
Kohlschreiber/Philipp Petzschner will go up against Feliciano Lopez/Fernando
Verdasco in the doubles. While the Kiefer of three years ago could win
this match, he's not fast or powerful enough to hang with Rafa. But Kohlschreiber
has more than enough pizzazz to beat Ferrer, who has had a rocky start
to the year. I'll take the Spaniards to win the dubs and Nadal to clinch
it 3-1 with a spectacular win over Kohlschreiber.
NOTES: MIRZA, VAIDISOVA,
HARKLEROAD'S WOES
In other news, the much put upon Sania Mirza underwent wrist surgery
in Miami and will be out at least a month. Interestingly, she also missed
most of last year's clay season with an injury. Venus Williams's struggles
with an illness (which could be anemia) continued and she's out of both
Amelia Island and Charleston. Nick Bollettieri reports that Nicole Vaidisova
has hired David Felgate (who once tutored Tim Henman) as her coach, replacing
her intense step dad, Ales Kodat. That ends the rumors that her boyfriend,
Radek Stepanek, will be coaching her. Vaidisova has been in an awful
slump this year. … Bonnie Ford reports that Ashley Harkleroad
is recovering from emergency surgery for a ruptured cyst on her ovary
and hopes to return to the tour in May, which means she'll miss the US's
Fed Cup tie against Russia. Harkleroad had at least a grinder's chance
to pull an upset, but who is Zina Garrison going to tab now to play alongside
Lindsay Davenport on dirt. Madison Brengle?
The ATP will finally begin awarding points for
Davis Cup starting next year. From 2009-2011, the first round will be
played week before Indian Wells (which means that Dubai and Delray Beach
will be played two weeks prior to IW), the week after Wimbledon (an ouch
to Newport!), the week after US Open and the week after the ATP Tour
Championships. … Gaston Gaudio may never play again, potentially
ending a bizarre career that included the '04 Roland Garros title. Roddick
is sporting a new buzz cut because he lost an NCAA pool to his fiancee,
Brooklyn Decker.
Quote of the day goes to Roddick when asked about
tennis' popularity compared to NASCAR: "It's a little disappointing
we're behind a sport that you turn left for four hours."
© TennisReporters.net 2008
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